A Russian fireman has been knocked down a rescue ladder by a huge chunk of snow which fell from the roof of a burning building.

He was trying to reach people trapped on the 4th floor of a block of flats in the east Siberian city of Magadan on Thursday.

A chunk of snow that stuck to the roof in subzero temperatures suddenly fell, sending the fireman flying down the ladder.

Incredibly, he managed to hang on as his colleague climbed past him on the ladder to save a toddler from the window of the building.

No casualties were reported in the fire.